Cattle-car-loading device.



' R. 5.*HOWARD.' CATTLE CAR LOADING DEVICE. v APPLICAUON FILED SEPT. 12. l9l3 lRIENFLWED OCT. l?. 19H.

Patented Nov. 20, 1917.

` 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

B. HOWARD.

CATTLE CAR LOADING DEVICE. l APPLICATION man sm. v2. |913. nfuswen ocr. 11.1911.l LM'YAH. y y Patented Nov.2o,1917.

nrerrnnn 'enown Howenn. or consonne, Nevera.

CA.TTLE-G ARLOADIG DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rateale. 'am'. eo', 1er r.

Application led September 12, 1913, Serial No. 789,527. Renewed ctober 17, 1917. Serial 110.197,110.

i i To all wlwm zt 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, RICHARD B. HowARo, av citizen of the United States, residing at Golc'onda, lin the county ofllumboldt land State of Nevada, have invented newand useful Improvements in Cattle-CarLoading Devices, of which the following is a Aspecification.

This invention relates to loading devices for stock or vcattle cars the object of the invention being to provide-1a device lof the character' referred to which will greatly facilitate and expedite the loading of sheep and otherstock upon single or double .deck cars,v proportionately reducing the expense 0f transportation of stock and .thev time necessary to load the cars of a train, also reducing the amount of ylabor and number of hands required;

With the above'iand other objects in view,

the invention consists inthe construction,

combination and arrangement of parte, as will hereinafter 'be moreA fully described, illustrated and claimed.. In the accompanying,drawingst-f v `Figure 1 is a sideelevation partly in section of the Medine' device of this,l invention shown in relation to a double deck car.

Figa2 is a cross section ori/the line 271-2 of, Figa 1. f

vvl:l`ig;'? is a planview of a' portion ofthe track@ "Fig.'4 is adetail vertical crossv section on the line 4-'-4 of Fig. 1 showing the track elevating mechanism. A y

'Fig."5 is a detail plan view lshowing the clutch and lockmechanism. Fig. 6 is a detail section showing the lockingr mechanism. 1

Fig. 7 is a' vertical cross `section on anenlarged scale taken adjacent to the enginev crank shaft and the cross fshaft.

Referringr 1to the drawingsk 1 designates a pen in 'which the stock areeonned and from which they are released through a suitable end gate 2 into a chute 3 which is of sufficient length toeXtend from-the gate 2 to a cattle 'car designated at3 mounted upon the road 'bed 4, the car 3 being shown as embodyim?` al'owerdeck 5 andan upper deck 6.,l

The sides 7 ofthe chute are yinclined as shown in Fig. 2, 'diverg'ingg` upwardly soas' to giVeadflitiQnalbody room for the stock intmovingnljrom they pen tothe car. `The bottomof the chute consists of an endless slatted floor 8 which tran'elb` around end rollers 9 journaled in suitable bearings in the opposite ends of a carriage 10 which is Supported by wheels 11 which .are movable lengthwise'of rparallel track rails 12, said rails being connected together by suitable cross braces and the track as a whole being vertically-movable rack bars 16, the latten being movable up and down in guides 17 and Abeing actuated by pinions- 18 and 19` fast on aA common 'horizontal shaft 20 VeX-.`

tending longitudinally of the chute as shown y in Fig'. l. AOn account of the inclinatiornV of the track 12, and in View oir' the fact that when the free end of the track is raised and'lowered it has a greater movement than the .opposite end thereof which as previously stated is pivotally mounted at 13 on the support 14,the pinions 18 and 19 areot` different sizes, the pinion 19 nearest the car car.v This' provides for thoroughly supporting the track between its ends at any angle to which the track may be adjusted" for the purpose ofdischargintr the stock upon the lower or upper deck of the car.

21 designates a. compressed air reservoir which is supplied by an air hose 22Aadapted to be connected to the air compressor in the" locomotive of the-train, said air hose beingy coiled around a drum 23 preferably arranged at,or near oneend of the reservoir EGG- 21. From `the reservoir 21 an air hose 24` extends to a motor 25which-drives the crosslshaft 43 which is geared to and drives the.v shaft 20 for the purpose of raising and lowering the track 12 by means of the rack "105 and pinion mechanism hereinabove 'de-v scribed. The shaft 43 drives the shaft 20 by means 'ofthe bevel gears 26 and 27 ,fthe shaft 43 carrying a drum 28 around which. `is wrapped a'cable 2 9 which is connected i110 being of greater diameter than the pinion 18` in order that the rack bar 1G nearest the'. car may be elevated at a greater rate of f specdfthan the rack bar 16 farthest from the at its extremity at the point to the eer.- riage l0 for the purpose of moving the car* riage toward the car 3 so that the endless floor ot' the chute will project slightly into the car and avoid any gap or space where the stock pass from the chute into the car.

Another air hose 31 extends from the reservoir 21 to, a floor operating motor 32 which by means of a connecting rod 38 re volves a drivin@ gear wheel 34 meshing with another gear wheel 35 on the shaft 36 of the roller 9 at the delivery end of the chute 3. In this way the endless iioor or moving platform 8 is actuated by the compressed air furnished by the locomotive ci the train receiving the stock and on account of the flexibility of the hose 31 and the slack left therein, the said endless floor or moving platform may be moved to the necessary eX tent toward and 'away from the side of the car to provide for closing the gap referred to and to enable the loading device as a wholeto be moved clear of ,the cars when not in use.

At its discharge end the chute o is ro- A vided with sliding gates 37 forming enten sions of the sides' 7 land adapted. to be slid toward the-car before the loading operation and to be retracted when the loading device is not in use.

38 designates a platform embodying suit- Yable supporting legs 39 resting on the 'platform in the form of anyground the same being interposed between the pen 1 and the chute 3, 4d designates an incline adapted to be positioned at the discharge end of the chute and movable platform to facilitate the passage of the stock from the movable platformto the deck oi. the car and to compensate for any variation between the level of the movable platform and thc dec-lr of the car. l The track rails '12 are braced' relatively to each other by the diagonal stays 4l as shown in Fig. 3 supplemented by the vcross bars 42 extending,` transversely between and rigidly connecting the rails 12.

From' the foregoing description it will be seen that the device comprises-la* movable dless walkway or floor which is driven by compressed air furnished by the locomotive. it will also be observed that the track on which the endless floor moves may be raised and lowered in order to accommodate the same to the level. of the 4decks of the cars. Furthermore, it will be seen that the carriage ofthe movable platform may be advanced and retracted toward and-v away from the car. Each of the movements referred to is accomplished with'the aid of the compressed air' furnished by the compressor of tlielocomotiva but it will, ofcourse, be understood that other motive power may be Autilized for obtaining the movements' above referred to.

The shafts' 20at the opposite sides' of the,

isernia machine are both simultaneously driven by the cross shaft 43 illustrated in the detall view, Fig. 7, said shaft being mounted in suitable bearing posts\ 44 and being provided at the opposite ends-thereof with the bevel pinions 2l 'and 45 which mesh With the other bevel pinions 26 on the Shafts 20. 4G designatesrthe engine crank shaft parallel to and 'shown as arranged below the shaft 48 and driven from the motor 25v by means of a pitman 47, the shaft 46 being mounted in suitable bearing posts 48. Fast on the shaft 4G are two spur gear wheels 49 and 50, the Wheel 49 meshing with a spur. gear wheel 51 normally loose on the shaft 43 while the wheel 50 meshes with another spurgear wheel 52 also normally loose on the shaft 43. Arranged adjacent/'to the wheel 51 is a shiftable clutch 53 movablev into and out oiiengagement with the wheel 51 for locking the wheel 51 to the shaft 43, the clutch 53 being shifted by means of a lever 54. The wheel 52 is provided with aclutch face 55 adapted to be engaged by a clutch 56 feathered to the shaft 43 as shown and shiftablc by means of a lever 57. 58 designates a locking lever or detent movable into engagement with a toothed wheel 59 at one side of the drum 28 and bearing a fixed relation thereto. The clutch 53 is also splined to the shaft 43 as shown.

The shaft 46 being constantly driven by the motor 25, by throwing the clutch 53 toward the wheel 51, the shaft 43 isv driven thus driving` lthe shafts 20 for raising and lowering` the platform by the means hereinabove described. When the desired ad,

drum F28 which is connected to the wheel 52`ff by a tubular shaft 62. When the cable 29` has been pulled or slacked to the desired extent, the 'drum 28 is locked by the detentlever 58 after disengaging the clutch 5,6 from the clutch face 55 of said wheel 52.

The device as a whole 'provides fbi' *tlie uninterrupted movement of the stock from the pen into the car, saving a great deal of time, requiring fewer attendants and greatly cconomizing in' train service, elimlnating delays and the additional expense due to such delays. In loading sheep, ythere is a strong tendency for the sheep to follow,v each'.

other closely and therefore vwhen the leaders start alongr the movable platform, the others will readily follow. l 'l s What I .claim lisz Stock loadinglapparatns Q ing,1 a chute, -amovable platform forming foreurs compristhe bottom of said chute and consistin of on Whichsad pnions are mounted, and a 1o z an endless Hoor, endrollers around w ichmotor for actuating said shaft. said Hoor moves, means for actuatngsad In testimony whereof I affix my signature foor, a carriage (im Whiclsaol'movzlabl:l plat in presence of 'two Witnesses. 5 orm is mounte atrae a on W ic sai Q 'carriage is movable, means org raising and BRO-WN HOWARD' loweringA said track 'embodying rack and VVit'neSses: A l pinion mechanism vinclulng a plurality of WILLIAM POLKINGHORNE,

racks, pinions of different dlameters, a shaft; EDWARD J. LY1-I3; 

